Solar control window films are widely used in the automotive and building industries for improving insulation of glazings as well as offering new possibilities of aesthetic modifications. Solar control function is based on near IR light absorption or reflection. Heat reflectors are usually the most selective and based on stacks of alternating dielectric and metal layers.
US 2006/0057399 discloses a solar control film comprising three metal oxide layers and two silver-containing layers, each interposed between two of the metal oxide layers. Such an infrared reflecting layered structure has superior performances compared with a stack comprising a single silver-containing layer with higher thickness. Indeed, the increase of the thickness of the silver-containing layer leads to a rapid increase of the visible light reflectance which is not acceptable in particular for window films functionalization for car industry for which the visible light reflectance has to be maintained below 15%. However, this stack is more expensive to produce, in particular due to higher amounts of silver used. In addition, the higher the amount of silver, the lower the film is resistant to corrosion.
It is thus an object of certain embodiments of the present disclosure to avoid the drawbacks of the prior art by providing an infrared reflecting film comprising one single silver-containing layer and having improved solar control properties.